Wayback Machine: Apple Cup Graffiti (1900-2011)

With so much rich history to it (104 games), it’s as much fun looking back on the Washington-Washington State rivalry as it is anticipating the next addition to to the series.

This is a program cover from the 1942 Washington-Washington State game, played at Husky Stadium. The Huskies and Cougars battled to a 0-0 tie. The schools also played to 0-0 ties in 1932 and 1934. / David Eskenazi Collection

By David Eskenazi and Steve Rudman

It can be argued, without fear of serious debate, that the single greatest individual performance in Apple Cup history, statistically at least, was delivered by Washington’sHugh McElhenny Nov. 25, 1950.

In front of 28,433 disconsolate Washington State supporters huddled in Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium, McElhenny sprinted, slogged and generally spreed through the Cougars for 296 yards. His five touchdowns came on on romps of 23, 39, 7, 14 and 84 yards as the Huskies prevailed 52-21.

The Apple Cup has been awarded annually since 1962. / Wiki Commons

McElhenny averaged an absurd 14.8 yards per carry. His 296 yards remain both Washington and Apple Cup single-game records 62 years later. As it did with McElhenny, then slightly less than a year away from launching a Pro Football Hall of Fame career, the Apple Cup tends to bring out the best in the players.

Washington’s Joe Steele (1976-79) had the best rushing day of his career against the Cougars, a 193-yard effort in 1978. Chris Polk had his best rushing effort, 284 yards, in 2010. Washington State’s Jack Thompson (1975-78) never threw for more touchdowns in a game than the five he pitched against the Huskies in 1976.

The Cougars’ Hugh Campbell, a first-team All-America receiver in 1961, enjoyed the biggest game of his college career against Washington (10 catches, 178 yards) Nov. 24, 1962, the official launch day of the Apple Cup as the official reward. And arguably the best day ofReggie Williams Washington career occurred Nov. 17, 2001, when he snagged 11 balls for 203 yards at the expense of Marcus Trufant and the Cougars.

Flip the calendar back to Nov. 19, 1955. The 4-4-1 Huskies found themselves matched against a 1-6-2 Cougar club in a game that would not have much to recommend it had not Washington’s Credell (Incredible) Green posted the only 200-yard rushing effort of his collegiate career. Green, in fact, gamboled through the deep mud of Husky Stadium for 258 yards and two touchdowns. For good measure, he added an interception.

No crowd at Washingtons football citadel has ever witnessed a better rushing performance in the 48 years that have elapsed since Green earned his moniker. No crowd at Martin Stadium in Pullman ever witnessed one to match the 284-yard Chris Polk avalanche in 2010.

Gil Dobie compiled a record of 5-0-1 against Washington State in the “almost annual” cross-state football rivalry. Washington did not play WSU in 1909 or 1915 during Dobie’s UW tenure (1908-16). A 1915 UW-WSU meeting would have been a classic: Washington went 7-0 under Dobie and WSU went 7-0 under Lone Star Dietz, who took WSU to the 1916 Rose Bowl. / David Eskenazi Collection

But Apple Cup eminence hasn’t always been about overly gaudy numbers. Fast forward from Nov. 19, 1955 to Nov. 21, 1992, a day when the Palouse blew a billow of snow.

A Rose Bowl-bound Washington team found itself utterly over-matched in what became an Apple Cup classic performance by Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

Bledsoe threw for 259 yards, not even his best Apple Cup showing in terms of real estate acquired (he delivered 295-yard efforts in 1990 and 1991). But Bledsoe’s uncanny rainbows, making him seem a magician worthy of David Copperfield, proved so compelling that they largely reduced to a footnote the best running performance by a Cougar in Apple Cup history, a 194-yard plow through the snow served up by Shaumbe Wright-Fair on a day when the best Husky runner could not exceed 60 yards.

Attempting to select the all-time best Apple Cup performances is an undertaking made complicated by the evolution of the game, its players and the stakes involved.

Washington’sDon McKeta ran for a meager 67 yards and no touchdowns in 1960, but he did it with a calf that had been split by an errant spike. And his snatch of a pass on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter produced an 8-7 Washington victory that sent the Huskies to the 1961 Rose Bowl.

No player in Apple Cup history has been more instrumental in his team winning a single UW-WSU rivalry game than McKeta, unless you consider Hank Grenda of Washington State.

On Nov. 23, 1968, Grenda, starting his first game in a year, scored one touchdown on a quarterback sneak, passed for two others, kicked three extra points, booted a 26-yard field goal and did all of the Cougars punting in a 24-0 WSU victory in Spokane.

The dapper Lone Star Dietz coached at Washington State from 1915 through 1917. In 1915, he coached the school’s first Rose Bowl team. / WSU photo

Heading into that contest, the Huskies hadn’t suffered an Apple Cup blanking since 1948. They have not been shut out in an Apple Cup since.

Which might make Hank Grenda’s performance the most remarkable individual effort in Apple Cup history.

Or maybe not. Like all great college football rivalry games, the beauty of the Apple Cup is that there is so much history involved (Teddy Roosevelt sat in the White House when Washington and Washington State first met on a football field) that it’s just as much fun looking back on the series as it is anticipating the next addition.

And since we can’t swallow 100-plus-years of that history whole, well take it in bites to more fully appreciate what we, and those who came before, have witnessed.

The Stock Market Crashed, But . . . : Playing in the 23rd renewal of the UW-WSU series in 1929 were two future NFL Hall of Famers, two future professional head coaches, a future member of the College Football Hall of Fame, a future NFL Most Valuable Player, and the future world record holder in the discus.

Lone Star Dietz, second from right, with his WSU coaching staff in 1915. To Dietz’s right is Fred J. “Doc” Bohler, after whom Bohler gym on the WSU campus is named. / David Eskenazi Collection

Paul Schwegler of Washington entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967. Hein became the NFL’s first-ever MVP in 1938, as a center. Paul Jessup, a tackle for Washington, set a world record in the discus  169-8 7/8 Aug. 23, 1930 at the AAU Track and Field Championships in Pittsburgh.

Future Hall of Famers: From 1930 through 1941, both Washington State and Washington were coached by men who would enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

UW Coach Enoch Bagshaw and WSU’s A.A Exendine served as subjects for the 1923 Huskies-Cougars game program. / David Eskenazi Collection

Babe Hollingbery ran the Cougars from 1926-42 and entered the hall in 1979. James Phelan coached the Huskies from 1930-41 and entered the hall in 1973.

First No. 1 Pick:Ed Goddard, a three-time All-America quarterback at WSU (1934-36), became the first Apple Cup alum selected in the first round of the NFL draft. The Brooklyn Dodgers took Goddard in the first round in 1937.

On Nov. 24, 1940, Edwards and Hein, the respective captains of the Redskins and Giants, met at the center of the field for the pre-game coin toss. When Edwards turned to go back to the Washington bench, his knee collapsed. He never played again.

Last Bows: The 1951 Apple Cup marked the last collegiate contest for a future Pro Bowl MVP (UWs Hugh McElhenny, 1958) and a future Olympic boxing gold medalist, WSUs Pete Rademacher, who won the light-heavyweight world crown in 1956.

Mel Hein starred in the WSU-UW series in the late 1920s and early 1930s and later became the NFL’s first-ever Most Valuable Player (1938 New York Giants) — as a center. / WSU photo

Talent Show: The 1991 Apple Cup, played in Seattle and won by Washington 56-21, featured 21 players who would become NFL draft choices, including the No. 1 overall selections in the 1992 draft, Steve Emtman of Washington, and Drew Bledsoe of Washington State (1993).

Accolades: In 1999, the editors of Total Football, in cooperation with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, selected the 300 Greatest Players in Pro Football History. Among the 300 were six Apple Cup graduates, including three Huskies and three Cougars.

The Crimson Tide crushed WSU 24-0, sending the Cougs home red-faced. Washington State did not wear all-crimson uniforms again until the 1982 Apple Cup, when it knocked Washington out of a Rose Bowl trip, 24-20.

“Couskies”: Nine individuals have played for both Washington and Washington State in the Apple Cup. All, except Frank Field at the turn of the 20th century, switched schools during the World War II years when the Navy and Marines transferred students so they could participate in the equivalent of officer candidate training (see Wayback Machine: Pest Welch’s Crazy War Years).

Martin Stadium is named after Clarence D. Martin, the 11th governor of the state of Washington and a 1906 graduate of the University of Washington.

APPLE CUP CELEBRATIONS / RIOTS

1982: Washington’ s Chuck Nelson missed only one field goal attempt in 26 tries in 1982, but the whiff proved decisive in Washington States 24-20 win over the Huskies at Martin Stadium.

The goal post that eluded Washington’s All-American placekicker was later cut up for souvenirs. One piece was fashioned into a trophy of sorts and remains in WSUs football office.

Program cover from the 1936 UW-WSU game. This was the first year that Washington and Washington State entered their rivalry game ranked by The Associated Press — UW No. 6, WSU No. 20. / David Eskenazi Collection

1989: Dozens of UW students tried to tear down the goal posts at Husky Stadium following Washington’s 20-9 victory, and were sprayed with mace by campus police in riot gear.

Two students were arrested and several taken to University Hospital.

1997: When the Cougars defeated the Huskies 41-35 in 1997, it marked the first (and only) time that Washington State qualified for the Rose Bowl by beating Washington at Husky Stadium.

The ensuing WSU celebration on UW turf lasted more than an hour.

(Washington State defeated Washington 3-0 during the 1930 season and played in the 1931 Rose Bowl. The Cougars were invited to the Rose Bowl only after defeating USC the following week).

2000: The season ended in a massive pileup at Martin Stadium, where the Cougars malfunctioned in the Apple Cup, losing 51-3 while establishing several dubious milestones:

Worst loss in Apple Cup history, worst WSU loss in 24 years, worst WSU loss at home in 45 years. The Huskies celebrated a Pac-10 championship and 10-1 season while Washington State moped off with a 4-7 record, 2-6 in conference.

2002: The 95th Apple Cup lasted four hours and nine minutes and three overtimes. After Washington won 29-26, the Huskies charged the field to celebrate. Most of the WSU players quickly departed, but Cougar fans fumed in a foul mood and began tossing bottles  lots of bottles  on the field.

UW receiver Reggie Williams was hit by a bottle. UW linebacker Greg Carothers’ father was hit by a bottle. So was a Tacoma News Tribune Huskies beat writer, Craig Hill.

Hugh Campbell, Washington State

A Seattle television reporter had a cup of beer land on his head while he interviewed UW kicker John Anderson. UW athletic director Barbara Hedges said she “feared for her life.”

2010: Following Washington’s 35-18 win in Pullman, Cougars fans rained water bottles, snowballs and ice chunks on the field, injuring several band members.

As UW defensive tackle Semisi Tokalahi was carted off the field with his broken leg in a cast, WSU fans pelted him with large ice balls.

COACHES

UW Players To Head Coach:Enoch Bagshaw, who earned five football letters playing for Washington from 1903-07, was the first former UW player to become head coach at the school when he began a nine-year run in 1921.

WSU Players To Head Coach:Emory Alvord(1913-14), who coached the Cougars in 1918, Phil Sarboe(1931-33), the head man from 1945-49, and Paul Wulff,are the only former Cougar players to run the football program at WSU (Alvord is almost certainly the only individual to participate in the UW-WSU series who later became a missionary in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe).

Hugh McElhenny had three 100-yard rushing games in the Apple Cup, including a record 296-yard, 5-TD performance in 1950 in Spokane. / David Eskenazi Collection

UW-WSU Head Coach To Pro Head Coach: Three who served as head coaches in the UW-WSU series became professional head coaches. Lone Star Dietz, WSUs head coach from 1915-17, coached the Boston Braves in 1933-34.

UW Assistant To Pro Head Coach: Jim Mora, an assistant under Don James at Washington from 1976-78, became head coach of the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. Mora’s son, Jim Mora Jr. served as a UW graduate assistant in 1984 and later served as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2004-06) and Seattle Seahawks (2009).

WSU Players To Pro Head Coach: Four former Cougar players became professional head coaches. Mel Hein (1928-30) coached the Los Angeles Dons in 1957, and Turk Edwards (1929-31) coached the Washington Redskins from 1946-48.

Neither Sutherland nor Clark produced more than one winning season at WSU. Sutherland compiled a 2-6 record against the Huskies, Clark a 1-3 mark.

Back In The Day, I: Gil Dobie earned $3,000 when he coached the UW in 1908. When he was fired in 1916, after posting a 58-0-3 record, Dobie’s salary had jumped to $3,100 (Dobie won two national championships at Cornell after departing UW).

Back In The Day, II: William Lone Star Dietz coached the Cougars from 1915-17. A Rosebud Sioux, Dietz was an assistant at Carlisle Indian School and a member of its 1911 football team, serving as a blocker forJim Thorpe.

Husky fans wore buttons like this one to the 1953 UW-WSU game at Husky Stadium, won by the Cougars, 25-20. / David Eskenazi Collection

After coaching WSU in its first Rose Bowl (1916), Dietz became an assistant to Pop Warner at Stanford, a consultant to Knute Rockne at Notre Dame and head coach of the Boston Redskins, forerunner of the Washington Redskins.

East-West Pioneer:Orin B. Babe Hollingbery, who coached at WSU from 1926 through 1942, initiated the East-West Shrine Game in 1925 and coached in it for many years. His record against Washington: 5-8-4.

In 1957, Don Ellingsen, Tuffys son, caught eight passes for 82 yards and a TD in WSUs 27-7 victory. UW tackle Mac Bledsoe played in three consecutive Apple Cups (1965-66-67) for the Huskies. His son, Drew, played in three in a row (1990-92) for the Cougars.

Washington designed a 1963 game button featuring a fearsome Dawg intimidating a meek Cougar. / David Eskenazi Collection

Rashaan Shehee had the other 200-yard game for Washington, a 212-yard effort in 1995. In 2005, Jerome Harrison ran for 207 yards, leading the Cougars to a 26-22 victory.

NFL Passer: If the NFL’s passer rating system were applied to Apple Cup quarterbacks, Ryan Leaf would rank first in the history of the rivalry for a single game.

In 1997, Leaf completed 22 of 38 passes for 358 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His rating: 104.9. Timm Rosenbach of the Cougars has the No. 2 rating ever, 104.1 in 1988. Washington’s top single-game passer: Brock Huard, 102.8 in 1997.

Pickett’s Charge:Cody Pickett owns the top two passing performances in Apple Cup history. In 2001, he threw for 371 yards and a touchdown in Washingtons 26-14 win. In 2002, Pickett threw for 368 yards and a touchdown in Washington’s 29-26 triple overtime victory.

250+: Drew Bledsoe is one of only two WSU quarterbacks to exceed 250 passing yards three times against the Huskies: 295 in 1990 and 1991 and 259 in 1992.

Program cover from the 1967 UW-WSU game, won by Washington State 9-7 at Husky Stadium. / David Eskenazi Collection

300+:Alex Brink is the only WSU quarterback with two 300-yard passing games against the Huskies.

He had 328 in a 35-32 loss to Washington in 2006 and 399 in a 42-35 win over UW in 2007.

Brink is also the only Washington State quarterback to beat the Huskies three times, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

No Games: Washington and Washington State, which first played in 1900, did not meet in 1905, 1906, 1909, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1943 and 1944.

Two games: In 1945, UW and WSU played two games, the only year they have met twice in one season. The teams split, Washington winning 6-0 and losing 0-7.

Rules Wrinkles: When the teams played to a 5-5 tie in 1900, touchdowns and field goals were worth 5 points. When they played to a tie in 1908, touchdowns were worth five points, field goals worth four points and PATs worth one.

Streak: After losing to WSU in 1907, Washington did not lose another game until 1917. Its 63-game unbeaten streak during that span remains the longest in college football history.

Program cover from the 1969 Apple Cup, in which the Huskies entered 0-9 and the Cougars 0-8. It was, at the time, the “worst” Apple Cup ever (2008 eclipsed it). / David Eskenazi Collection

Blankings: The Huskies blanked the Cougars in three consecutive games from 1912-14, winning 19-0, 20-0 and 45-0.

Dominance: Not only did the Cougars beat the Huskies 14-0 in 1917, they held the Huskies to no first downs and no passing yards.

That game also marked the last appearance at WSU for legendary Lone Star Dietz.

Name Changes: 1922 marked the first year the Huskies played the Cougars.

From 1894 through 1919, Washington State went by the Staters, Aggies and Pullman.

WSU students adopted Cougars on Oct. 28, 1919, after a Bay Area sports writer said WSU “played like cougars” in a story detailing WSU’s 14-0 win over California. Originally known as Sun Dodgers, Washington adopted Huskies on Feb. 3, 1922.

Both Ranked: The Associated Press first ranked Washington and Washington State in 1936. The Huskies entered the game at No. 6, the Cougars at No. 20.

Washington won 40-0. Since then, the UW and WSU have both been ranked four times, the last time in 2001 when the Huskies entered the game at No. 16 and the Cougars at No. 9.

Odd Juxtaposition: The 1951 Apple Cup was the only UW-WSU meeting of the 1950s in which the Cougars were ranked (No. 17) and the Huskies were not.

Once In The 70s: UW (No. 17) and WSU (No. 20) were both ranked entering the 1972 Apple Cup, the only time that happened in the 1970s.

Bad Home Turf: The Cougars won only three of the fifteen Apple Cups played at the Spokane venue (1958, 1968, 1972), first known as Memorial Stadium and then as Joe Albi Stadium.

Glorious ’80s: Washington entered the Apple Cup as a ranked team by The Associated Press in six of the 10 Apple Cups played between 1980-89.

In 1981, Washington and Washington State were ranked, the Huskies at No. 17 and the Cougars at No. 14. Washington won, 23-10.

Rose Bowl Showdown: The 74th renewal of the Apple Cup in 1981 marked the first (and last) time the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth were on the line for both teams. Washington won with Ron Jackson rushing for 103 yards and Jacque Robinson adding 93.

Never Three: The Cougars have never beaten the Huskies three consecutive times.

Best Apple Cups: Based on the combined number of wins by both teams entering the Apple Cup, the 1981, 1992 and 2001 games rank as the best, UW and WSU entering with a combined 17 wins.

Worst Apple Cup: Based on the combined number of losses by both teams entering the Apple Cup, the 2008 game was the worst, UW and WSU entering with a combined 20 defeats.

Rivalry Games: With 104 games in the archives, the Washington-Washington State game is tied for the 14th most-played rivalry in college football history. Top two: Minnesota-Wisconsin (122); Missouri-Kansas (121).

Summary: WSU has not played any rival more often than Washington (104 meetings), but Washington has played Oregon 105 times since 1900.

Drew Bledsoe delivered the signature game of his Washington State career in 1992, when he beat the Huskies, 42-23 in a Pullman snow storm. / WSU photo

Ranking Histories: Washington has been ranked in The Associated Press preseason poll 28 times and in the final AP poll 22 times. Washington State has been ranked in the AP preseason poll twice and in the final AP poll 11 times.

APPLE CUP ROUTS

Biggest WSU Win / Nov. 24, 1973: The Cougars raced to a 42-6 lead at the half as Andrew Jones, who finished with 139 rushing yards, scored on runs of 12, 1 and 62 yards. Not even four TD passes by Washington’s Chris Rowland could rescue the Huskies, who finished with a 2-9 record, including an 0-7 mark in conference play.

Chuck Peck, the WSU quarterback, completed nine of 17 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

The Apple Cup is the 14th most-played rivalry in college football. / David Eskenazi Collection

In becoming the first UW quarterback since Sonny Sixkiller in 1970-71 to throw for more than 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons, Tuiasosopo completed 11 of 20 passes and had TD throws of 34 and 6 yards to Justin Robbins and 19 yards to Wilbur Hooks.

UW held the Cougars to just 210 yards and prevented WSU from scoring a TD for the first time in 69 games.

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